All posts tagged ‘App Store’

Mibblio is a fun, engaging musical storybook app that allows your children, ages three to eight, to read, sing, and play music all while learning the basics of music composition.

With nine different illustrated story-songs, called Mibblets, from which to choose, and a nearly unlimited combination of musical instrument choices, Mibblio will keep your child entertained for hours on end while they learn.

The starter app is free. When you download the app from the App Store, you can select one Mibblet as a free download. Each additional story-song is $2.99. Some of the songs are well-known classics. Others are new, but are an excellent addition to the classic children’s songs. The nine story songs currently available are:

The Wheels on the Bus: Music by Rob Corradetti and Sam Rubin. Illustrated by Kim Sielbeck.

On Top of Spaghetti: Illustrated by Mattia Cerato. Music performed by Union Street Preservation Society.

The Mashed Potato Monster Gang: Story by Heather Hirshfield and Ed RosenBerg III. Illustrated by Larry 3. Music by Ed RossenBerg III.

Monkey Jamboree: Story and music by Michael Farkas. Illustrated by Beatrice Costamagna.

I Like ‘em Sunny Side Up: Music and lyrics by Ryan Langlois. Illustrated by Valentina Belloni. Performed by The Third Wheel Band.

Millie and Her Curling, Whirling Hair: Story by Molly Simms. Illustrated by Jenny Herbert. Music by Sammy Rubin.

Superhero Vacation: Written and performed by Alana Amram and Jim Campilongo. Illustrated by Travis King.

Wibblesmacks!: Written and illustrated by Jeremy Hines. Music by Sammy Rubin.

Each story-song is beautifully illustrated. The music composition is also excellent. With a host of talented musicians behind this app, including Grammy-nominated mandolinist Andy Statman and Grammy-winning drummer Marty Beller, the accompaniment is music even to the parent’s ears.

The magic happens when your child begins to engage with the app.

The Wheels on the Bus. Image: Mibblio

The variety of sounds your child can make is wonderful. On the right-hand side of the app, your child can play 12 different percussive instruments – three are available at any one time, and they are easy to swipe through and change during play – and five different stringed instruments. At the bottom of the app, your child has eight different keyboard settings from which to choose.

There is nothing to limit the amount of creativity your child can use while playing with this app.

On the left-hand side of the app is where even more magic can happen.

Each story-song has its own unique mix of five or six instruments accompanying the song. Each instrument can be turned on and off, either one at a time, in a variety of combinations, or your child can turn off every instrument, leaving only the voice, and become the only source of music. Each time your child turns on and off an instrument, they will get an idea of how music is layered to create the final product they hear in other media. Essentially, they become the composer and the accompanist.

Aside from an app that allows your child’s creativity to run free, parents will also enjoy this app because the instruments never become a cacophony of noise.

As the song’s key changes, so does the key for the stringed instruments. Your child can strum away, haphazardly, and you will not be left asking yourself, “Why did I purchase this noise maker?” Also, I found it wonderful that in the percussion instruments there are two different types of cowbell! I was also quite partial to the banjo and the harp.

Mibblio menu. Image: Mibblio

The app is extremely simple to navigate. All the child has to do is swipe from song to song, tap the song they want to play, wait for the story to load, and tap the play button. After that, it is as simple as pressing different instruments. Once your child is done, the music continues to play in the background, leaving them to continue to create their own special mix of sounds. When they are done, they can either reload the story-song and start from the beginning, or return to the home screen to choose another story-song to play.

There is even a reminder to parents to set Multitasking Gestures to off. This is to prevent your child from accidentally going to other apps, as they excitedly press all the things within the app.

About Mibblio
Mibblio was founded in 2012 by cousins Sammy Rubin and David Leiberman. As a composer and music producer, Sammy wanted to create a new type of musical story experience for kids that combined illustrated stories with the music-making elements that he used on a daily basis. David left the world of consulting to design and teach innovative curricula to high school students and joined Sammy on his venture to create a fun, musically enriching and educational new technology. David’s background in education as well as his passion for music made for the perfect partnership and thus Mibblio was born. Be sure to like Mibblio on Facebook and follow on Twitter for the latest updates.

A copy of this app and all of the story songs were provided for the purposes of this review.

When the new iPhone 5 was announced, I immediately wanted one. I’m not an Apple computer person, but when it comes to their phones and other devices, I’ve found them to work well for what I need.

Part of my job involves purchasing and setting up company phones for employees. I was curious to know how my new iPhone would hold up to my previous model (4s) as well as another popular smartphone, the Samsung Galaxy S3.

What I found might surprise you (I know it surprised me). After comparing it to my iPhone 4s, the tests proved the iPhone 5 was superior in many areas including processor speed and battery life. Once I compared my iPhone 5 to the Samsung Galaxy, I realized Apple has a long way to go to get the iPhone 5 up to speed in a few areas including toughness and battery life.

Let’s talk about what has changed in the iPhone 5. The most noticeable (or just advertised) differences include a larger screen, new connector, faster processor, and better headphones. On top of all that, the back of the phone is now made of an aluminum backing instead of glass (I’m still baffled why anyone would make the back of a phone out of glass, but I digress)

The new earphones actually stay in my ears \ Image: Dakster Sullivan, taken with an iPhone 5

Apple claims the processor is twice as fast in the new iPhone as it was in the 4s model. To test this out, I put both of my phones next to each other and had them open up Angry Birds. My iPhone 5 was noticeably faster. I also did a test searching for Disney through Safari. My iPhone 5 once again left my 4s in the dust. The camera shutter also appeared to work a little faster than in the 4s.

The new lightning connector has received a lot of attention because of how drastic the change is. Every accessory you own for your old iPhone will no longer work with your new one. If you’re new to the iPhone, you’ll have to wait a little bit before manufactures can catch up and make accessories to include this new adapter. To top it off, the adapter that takes it from the new connector to the old 30 pin costs $30 and it won’t support ‘iPod Out’; a feature that allows you to control your device through the accessories controls (such as your dashboard or stereo system). On the upside, my iPhone 5 appears to charge much faster than my 4s.

The iCade mobile is the newest addition to the iCade line. Designed for iPhone / iPod touch devices, this little guy is a nice addition to my pile of iDevice accessories.

One of my geeky obsessions is anything that says it will work with my iPhone / iPod. From the moment it first arrived, I was eager to try it out. The iCade is only compatible with certain games, so I checked out their website to decide what to play. From the list of compatible games, I was happy to see a familiar title…Frogger Decades. This game has been pretty popular on the app store and my six-year old son, Brandon, has been playing it for months.

The first thing I had to do was to get it to sync with my iPod via bluetooth. After that was over with, I ran into a slight problem…the device recognizes the iCade as a keyboard, so if you need to go to the app store to download games, you will need to turn the iCade off while you do it. Otherwise you wont be able to search for games or enter your password to install them.

I finally had some games downloaded and started to play. After a few minutes of game time, it felt like I had someone watching over my shoulder. I looked up and saw Brandon eagerly waiting for his inevitable turn. He was convinced that after watching me for a few minutes that he could play without any instruction. The funny thing is that after I handed it over to him, I discovered he was right. He didn’t need any help at all. He was excited to see some new games on the iPod, but he wasnt that interested in them. His focus was all on Frogger.

After playing with it for a little bit, we noticed he had made some significant progress in the game. Brandon was doing well with Frogger Decades before the iCade mobile, but he made some lengthy progress while playing with it.

I wish it would work on games like Sonic the Hedgehog and Megaman, but maybe that’s something they can work on for a future update. I can’t say anything about the battery power since we haven’t fully drained it yet. So far, its holding its own after being played with for thirty to forty-five minutes at a time.

Overall, I am pretty pleased with the iCade Mobile. I’m not sure how much it lives up to its big brother, the iCade, but for a little guy, it packs a nice little punch.

The iCade Mobile is available from ThinkGeek, Amazon, Best Buy, Target and various other retailers. For a complete list, check out ION Audio’s website.

In exchange for my time and efforts in reporting my opinion within this blog, I received a free review sample. Even though I receive this benefit, I always give an opinion that is 100% mine.

In the same vein as their apps that I have previously reviewed (Helicopter Taxi, Toca Doctor, and Toca Tea Party), Toca Boca, a prolific app publisher, has several more, newer apps. I’ve profiled them below.

Toca Boca has a solid history of colorful, fun apps, where occasionally the device is used as a toy itself, instead of being the conduit to playing a game. Helicopter Taxi, for example, has kids running carefully walking around the house to ferry passengers around town. Toca Tea Party puts iPads in the position of being a table, complete with table cloth, cups, saucers, tea, juice, and goodies.

Their newer apps are just as fun.

Toca Paint My Wings
$.99
In Paint My Wings, kids choose colors made from berries to paint the wings of a butterfly. The app lets kids paint on either side of the butterfly’s body, and then it mirrors the effect on the other side, keeping everything symmetrical. The paintbrush shape can also be changed. Kids can send a picture of their creation to the Photos area of their device, or start a new butterfly. Each butterfly talks to them as they create.

Hair Salon. Image: Toca Boca

Toca Hair Salon
$1.99
Kids choose from one of six animals or characters to whom to give a haircut and style. The character then sits in the chair, and you use tools such as a comb, scissors, water, a hair dryer, camera, hair clippers, and a wide variety of spray-on colorings. Swipe across the screen to use the tools once they are selected. The character getting their hair done will make various approving noises from time to time. Once you are done, tap the camera option, then tap the character, and a photo will be saved in the Photos area. Then go back and choose a new character!

Robot Lab. Image: Toca Boca

Toca Robot Lab
$.99
Different from the two apps above, Robot Lab lets kids design their own robot. Choose from different options for legs, bodies, heads, and arms, and then play a maze game where you collect stars. Sometimes the stars are hidden behind objects. Each time you design a new robot, there is a slightly different set of robot body part options.

Store. Image: Toca Boca

Toca Store
$2.99
Toca Store is either a one or two player game where you play store. The shopkeeper chooses what wares to sell, choosing from food, toys, and other items, and the customer decides what to buy. Once the items are ready for sale, the shopkeeper invites a customer to shop. The customer then chooses an item and the shopkeeper chooses a price for the item, from 1 to 5 coins. It then gets rung up. The customer pays with coins from their coin purse, and puts the item in their bag. They can keep buying items until their money runs out, and then they get a receipt and can play again. If kids don’t have enough change to buy the last item, more money magically appears in their coin purse.

Toca Boca also has a Birthday Party Playtime app in the App Store, and I have no doubt that they’ll continue to come out with interesting and creative apps for kids.

Snow Day! I’ve heard that shouted down the stairs one too many mornings lately. Here on the East Coast we’ve been slammed with snowstorm after snowstorm this winter. Sure we’ve had a few reprieves in the form of bizarrely placed 80 degree days, but other then that it seems the whole world is just shades of grey.

On heavy snow days my husband has worked from home and my daughter has of course, been off from school. This can get tricky. Our house is 246 years old so it’s not exactly possessing of an “open floor plan”. This means that when the three of us are home at the same time we are mindful of each other’s space. We generally handle this quite well. But add two dogs and two cats to the mix and this careful choreography starts to miss the beats.

The dogs and cats, usually with free and easy access to and enthusiasm for the outdoors, are now refusing to go outside. They are depressed, and mopey, and consequently, constantly underfoot. I’ve taken to mocking them and posting photos of their sloth on twitter, in the hopes that the public shaming of their uselessness will inspire them to get back to work doing doggy and catty things. No luck yet.

Fortunately with my daughter I have not had to resort to such tactics. Typically she’s pretty good at the self amusement thing and will flow organically from computer, to reading, to playing outside, to practicing guitar, with little prodding from me. But these endless blankets of crystal mire have taken their toll on her as well, and in her search for something, anything stimulating she’s taken to borrowing my iPad. It’s been rather handy. Not only for watching movies on Netflix while cuddled up in a cozy chair, but for playing board games together (no missing pieces on the iPad) and exploring new games. Below is a list of some great iPad apps, for curing your snow daze. Keep in mind many of them are available on the iPhone or iPod touch too.

Comics

For kids who are comic and manga addicts the iPad can be a beautiful thing. While digital comics offer little for the hardcore collector (no first editions), for the avid comic reader an iPad app allows you total portable access to your complete collection, as well as instant access to new releases.

Viz Media’s Manga app (iPad only) gives you instant access to the best of Japanese comics. The app is free and offers monthly freebies and previews of new content. You can instantly buy full copies of the issues you wish to read. This app features a reading experience in the traditional manga style (right to left) and carries a nice selection of old favorites and hot new releases, including Bleach, which GeekMom Corrina Lawson reviewed over at GeekDad, and the manga of the popular anime series, Naruto.

Creative

Art Rage – For your budding artist try out Art Rage an incredible app for hands on painting on the iPad. At $6.99 this app is way cheaper then Photoshop and a graphics tablet, but still offers incredible versatility.

Let’s Create! Pottery – Hypnotic, relaxing, meditative – these are the words that come to mind with this app. With delightful background music of birds chirping, this simple app let’s you make pottery without “getting your hands dirty” which is sometimes a plus to busy Moms! Free with a $4.99 upgrade, the paid version features more materials and options.

Hot Games

Naturally Fruit Ninja and Angry Birds continue to be addictive and popular games at our house. But they are losing ground to a few new favorites:

Unblock Me ($.99) is a puzzle solving game where you move around wood blocks to release a single colored block. This game is really challenging and a lot of fun.

Stroke of Midnight I cannot say enough good things about this game. Free to play at first it does require a $3.99 upgrade after you reach a certain point. These clever developers know that when you get to that point, you’re hooked. This game is well worth the upgrade price and kept my daughter occupied and fascinated for quite a while. Beautiful graphics, with an interesting mystery story and intriguing game play.

Classic Games

Family Feud is a hit again on the iPad. I don’t think my daughter has ever seen an episode of this classic game show, but she sure loves playing it on the iPad! At $1.99 it’s been a good investment.

Fantastic Four in a Row ($.99) is an iPad version of the popular Connect Four game. I’m a master of this game, but playing against the computer with this app is incredibly challenging. Thankfully the app allows for two players so you can play against your kids, or your spouse (who has to let you win sometimes)

For Mom

Fireplace – Last but not least, a great little $.99 app to provide you with some warming ambiance during the chilly evenings. I literally set this up on my kitchen counter while having my afternoon tea. So cozy!

What are your favorite apps for snowed in entertainment? Share them in the comments!

It’s never too late to look forward to Christmas, for those of us who celebrate it. For me, Christmas is never just a one-day holiday, but a month-long state of mind that includes tasty food, merry music, and plenty of anticipation. As I mentioned recently on GeekDad, we also revel in doing several advent calendars each year.

This year, apps are contributing to our holiday fun. Countdown to Christmas is helping my kids keep in the spirit (as if they needed help), and it is filled with puzzles to assist you in, well, counting down to Christmas. The puzzles are all of the rearranging sort, but you can set the level of difficulty, and you can share the completed puzzles. To move the pieces, just tap two that you’d like to swap places. Once you complete each one, the puzzle also animates parts of its scene, such as snow, fish, or chimney smoke. All the while, lovely instrumental Christmas music plays in the background.

The main page of Countdown to Christmas changes for each five puzzles you complete. Once you complete the five on any particular main page, you unlock the next one, working your way through the countdown. Each puzzle, starting with the one labeled “24 days” and working down to “1 night,” shows various Santa-related images on his trip around the world to deliver presents. They’re not all winter scenes, since it isn’t winter (or winter weather) all over the world in December.

This isn’t a sophisticated puzzle app, but the artwork is cute, and the instrumental Christmas music is very tasteful (songs such as Oh Holy Night, and O, Christmas Tree). You have to use discipline to only do one puzzle per day, though, since it doesn’t take note of the date and stop you from doing the next puzzle. For your perseverance, finishing all 24 puzzles, you are rewarded by being able to launch Santa and his reindeer on their way to deliver gifts for Christmas.

Great fun for little kids, Countdown to Christmas is an added treat to do each day as they wait for Christmas day, but I wish there was more variation to the puzzles. Countdown to Christmas costs $1.99 at the iTunes store.